Fr Marco Lazzaron
he dawn of a new day in the history of salvation opens with a woman walking between the lights and darks of a night that is disappearing and with the flashes of a morning that promises endless joy. Mary Magdalene thinks she will find a lifeless body, and instead, she gets a surprise that will change the destiny of creation forever. Christ is risen and does not live in a tomb, but now he is called to stand alongside the lost and frightened disciples before returning to the Father to sit at his right hand and return in the last times when he will judge the living and the dead.
The woman, taken by confusion, quickly goes to the twelve. Peter and John run to the tomb, taken by fears, they seem not to trust what a woman says, they have to verify. The beloved disciple goes faster and arrives first, but the entrance is made by the prince of the Apostles. Love gives way to the Magisterium.
The surprise takes shape. What Jesus had announced during his public ministry now comes to fruition. The Resurrection is reality. Scripture has been fulfilled. But, where do I/you stand in front of this mystery of death and resurrection? Do I run with the anxiety of Mary Magdalene inhabited by total confusion or do I try with Peter and John to pause and remember what Scripture says about this wonderful event?
It is necessary to reiterate that article of the profession of faith that we recite every Sunday: I believe in the resurrection of the dead. Do you really believe that Christ is risen and we are called to rise with Him? How do you experience the Resurrection in your life?
In saying “I do believe”, you answer affirmatively that you believe and reject everything that is not in accordance with this such as reincarnation. Reincarnation in Buddhism, or Hinduism, is never felt as a salvation, but as a condemnation, because salvation, even in these religions, is achieved through a long discipline during earthly life (only human effort, and no divine intervention is necessary). Behind all this, there seems to be fear and shame.
“May the Easter proclamation spread throughout the world with the joyful song of Alleluia! Let us sing it with our lips, let us sing it above all with our hearts and with our lives, with an “unleavened” lifestyle, that is, simple, humble, and fruitful of good deeds. Surrexit Christus spes mea; precedet vos in Galileam: Christ, my hope, is risen; he precedes you in Galilee. The Risen One precedes us and accompanies us on the streets of the world. He is our hope, He is the true peace of the world. Amen!” (Benedict XVI).
Happy Easter to all of you! Christ is risen, Alleluia! He is truly risen, Alleluia!